Second Week Reflections

I am trying to understand the rhythm of this online course. Getting it so that I know how it works and how to best accomplish the work and do well. I still feel overwhelmed by all of the information. So much of it is new to me that I fear that I won't understand it enough to do a good job. The other worry is that I will simply miss something and fall behind.

One of the first things I looked at was the hierarchy of the library system in NY state. I know that I must understand this system and how it works. I'm glad that it has been presented because this has never come up in another class at all...and this is pretty much my last class to take. I really want to be a great school librarian and I understand that simply wanting to be that is not enough. Knowledge and understanding is the key to implementing a good library program. There are so many things to know: the hierarchy, copyright laws, grants, all the technology and keeping up with it, just to name a few.

I got a chance to look at NOVEL. I've looked at it before. We are so fortunate in NY state to have this resource. I learned about it in a class I took a year ago. There are so many people that are unaware of this resource. My sister homeschools her children and didn't know about it. I told her about it a year ago, but I'm not sure she has used it much. How could you not if you are an educator of any sort here in NY? Thinkfinity.com is new for me.

The articles I have read so far have been interesting and informative. The Cyber Briefing Paper was particularly interesting to me. I have children of my own and tried to think of them as I read the findings of these studies. I admit that I am not terribly concerned about the issues raised in the article. Maybe I should be. I just think that every generation of young people made their respective older generations worried about them in some way or another. I think quite a bit of it has to do with maturity and the normal "generation gap" that occurs. I observe my own children, one of whom is in high school and I see a smart kid who isn't that much different than the teens of my own generation (the 80s). I noticed that the article made sure to say that young people are not necessarily technologically savvy or "expert" searchers. This echoes what one of the school librarians that I worked with told me.

Copyright. Wow! So much information and virtually all of it new. I wonder if I've broken copyright without knowing it at some time or another. I wouldn't do it on purpose, honest! It just brings home the huge responsibility that all educators have in knowing and understanding this information. I liked some of the websites my classmates put up about teaching copyright issues. Thanks!